Goods stacked in warehouses and transported in trucks, ships, and airplanes are normally placed on pallets made of wood or metal. The deck of the pallet is normally spaced above the surface of the ground by parallel runners such as 2 .times. 4 inches placed on an end. The area between runners is required to permit the finger of a fork on a fork lift truck to engage the bottom of the deck for lifting and moving the pallet with the goods, thereon.
The pallets are heavy and occupy a considerable space. On a truck, ship or airplane maximum utilization of the cargo held is a desirable feature. Furthermore, the weight of the pallet creates an unnecessary shipping expense for the shipper. After the goods have been removed from the pallet, a problem of storage or disposal arises. The pallet may either be returned to the shipper, utilized to ship other goods, or destroyed. The cost of storage or disposal is a necessary cost of doing business and any improvement in lightening the weight of the pallet or improving the method of stacking and supporting goods is desirable.